NSS lauds the first Mach 2 flight by a private piloted rocket
vehicle and granting of the first private spaceship license by the
FAA

WASHINGTON, DC – National Space Society Executive Director
George Whitesides issued the following statement on two milestones
in space history: the announcement on April 7 by the Federal
Aviation Administration that it had issued the first license for a
"sub-orbital manned rocket flight" to Burt Rutan's Scaled
Composites of Mojave, CA, and the news that the very next day, on
April 8, Rutan’s newly licensed vehicle SpaceShipOne had
reached Mach 2 and over 100,000 feet in its second successful
powered flight.

"Three individuals have just made history: pilot Peter Siebold,
designer Burt Rutan and Patti Smith, the FAA's Associate
Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation. With this
license, the FAA has taken a careful step towards enabling US
leadership in the new industry of suborbital spaceflight."

"The license is truly a crucial event, which for the first time
makes it legal for a private rocket-powered vehicle to attempt to
reach space with a pilot on board. The effort over the last several
years to pass legislation permitting the FAA to issue such licenses
has paid off, and opened the door to the start of real X PRIZE
competition. This will lead to a further expansion of private
interest in developing safe and reliable spacecraft which are also
inexpensive to operate."

"Scaled Composite's successful flight the next day confirms that
the FAA has licensed a leader in this new industry. NSS looks
forward to the licensing of more leaders soon."

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The National Space Society (NSS) is an independent,
international, grassroots organization dedicated to the creation of
a spacefaring civilization. NSS has more than 22,000 members and 50
chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Germany,
Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1974, NSS is widely
acknowledged as the preeminent citizen’s voice on
space.For More Information:
George Whitesides
Executive Director
(202) 429-1600george@nss.org